Last reporting period we were able to mobilize a group of youth to start growing seedlings of coconuts, timber and fruit trees from local seed sources. This is with the aim of producing seedlings for the rainy season. The technology learnt in making the seedling nursery and raising the seedlings in a quality way comes from the internet thanks to the Mindanao Ecolife Hub facility which provides this venue. This month, May is the start of planting season and this time, the youths have available 3,000 seedlings of different fruit and timber trees including coconuts. The trees were sold to local farmers and were planted in the field. Planting techniques also were sourced from the internet. The internet indeed is a virtual resource which local farmers can readily generate information for their immediate use. Aside from planting techniques, information about organic fertilizer, pest and disease control and field management activities were generated from the internet. Thanks so much to supporters and friends of the Mindanao Ecolife Hub.

This report is about a group of 8 youths who have learned how to raise seedlings of fruit and timber trees coming from local seed sources are starting a seedling nursery and they aim to sell the seedlings as their enterprise project. They said that they embarked on this because seeds of trees for the nursery is easy to get and are readily available and the cost of starting a nursery is small while the potential income is big. The web is full of technical recommendations and examples on how to properly grow seedlings starting from seed selection, preparing the potting media and control of pests and diseases. The Ecolife Hub is surely a great help and without it, this project will not succeed.

This reporting period, we expand the reach of our hub to children who are residing in the mountains, which is about 18 kilometers from our base in Libertad. The focus of the work is on trying to control soil erosion and to maintain the fertility of the soil. The youth participating in this gathered much technical materials from the internet on aspects like agro-forestry, permaculture, tree planting and soil and water conservation in general. We find this urgent because flash floods frequently occur in the coastal plains and this can be controlled if water from heavy rains is minimized by the action of plant roots. This reporting period, we were able to plant trees in 12 hectares of hilly areas.

This reporting period, we provide training for poor farmers and their families in basic skills in organic home-gardening and using local resources available in their households to start a home-garden. With support from the project, we have provided seeds, seedlings, small tools and organic fertilizer for the trainees. A total of 60 trainees was trained. The training is 2 days per batch of trainees and the core training topic is the one designed and developed by the Asian Rural Institute entitled Enrichment of Foodlife which emphasizes the value of producing and sharing healthy food in a manner sustainable to the environment and to the community. We got the information about the work of the Asian Rural Institute from the internet and contacts.

The following are the areas and the number of trainees;

Iligan City, June 19 and 20, 2012

Mandulog, Iligan City – held at the Mandulog Arabic Building. 25 participants

Hinaplanon, Iligan City – held at the Hinaplanon Barangay Hall, 35 participants

Small, doable projects that use very little financial resources to implement are the initiatives of choice of the youth who are participating in the Ecolife Hub. For example in this one, they raise vegetables in small plots and take care of it every day then generate products mainly for the home out of it. The technology they derive from the internet and in surfing the web. There is very little that they buy in terms of start-up and all they need are few seeds, water, soil and lots of sunshine. Some of the youths are into raising of small farm animals like chickens, goats and pigs. Surely this is a big boost to the income and nutrition of local families here and they do it themselves. The web is a good teacher and almost all information is present.

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